Vacuum drier with centrifugal dust separator



Nov. 2, 1937. L. H. BAILEY VACUUM DRIER WITH CENTRIFUGAL DUST SEPARATOR Original Filed April 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L. H. BAILEY Nov. 2, 193 7.

VACUUM DRIER WITHCENTRIFUGAL DUST SEPARATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 8, 1935 l mv. F4

WEA/ra@ @zare/2te az' W/r//Ess 4Patented Nov. 2, 1937 PATENT' OFFICE VACUUM Dama wrm CENTRIFUGAL Dus'r n sEPAaA'ron Lawrence H. Bailey, yPhiladelphia, Pa., assignor to F. J. Stokes Machine Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 8, 1935, Serial No. 15,164

'Renewed September 28, 1937 7 Claims.

invention pertains to new' and useful im provements in vacuum driers, andv particularly to the wist-separating,means` of rotary vacuum driers used for drying pulverulent or powdered material, such as starch, Whiting, reclaimed rubber, shellac, crystals, etc.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a new method and more eiiicient and economical means for trappingor separating 10 the greater part of the dust particles carried out of the drying chamber by the vapors; collecting the'particles at a strategic. point; and returning them, as collected, continuously into ithe drying chamber without breaking or' lowering the vacuum within the chamber.

In vacuum drying, extremely high vapor velocitiesare obtained on account of the enormous volume ofthe steam or other vapors under vacuum. The high speed vapors tend to carry dust particles out of the drying chamber, especially when the material is light or iinely divided. This condition is aggravated by the action of the agitating paddles or by the tumbling of the material.' In somecases, as much as 20% of the material passes out or over into the dustdrying is still incomplete, the material collected in the filter-bag must be put back into the drier at some subsequent drying operation to complete the drying. The filter-bags have the further disadvantage of causing a serious drop in the vacuum, thus limiting the height of the vacuum obtainable within the drying chamber. Considerable time and labor is also required-in attending to the changing and emptying of the filterbags.

40 When a wet-scrubber is used, the dust collected in this, of course, requires even more re-working than that collected in the filter-bags. f

'Ihe above-recited diiculties are wholly or partly eliminated through this invention, which introduces a centrifugal type of dust-trap and collector of a new and novel design producing very desirable economies in the process of vacuum drying.

I have found that the centrifugal dust-trap and collector, for certain heavy materials, such as crystals, may be used as the only means needed between the condenser and the drying chamber to produce the required separation. In other cases, forv example, very light and finely divided materials, such as corn starch, may be used in connection with the lter-bag and/or the wet-scrubber, but even with this arrangement it provides the principal means of separatdecreases the amount of work connected with 5 the bag-filter and/or the wet-scrubber and thus aids in producing greatly increased production.

In connection with the description, I have i1lustrated in the drawings one embodiment of my invention, chosen from several similar ones, so 10 as to set forth the principles of the new methods and the apparatus which may be used to produce the new results. At the end of the specication, the novel features of my invention will be specifically pointed out and claimed. 15

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, with parts in horizontal crossfsection.

Fig. 3 is an end view from the left side of Fig. 1, 20 with parts ,in vertical cross-section.

Referring to the drawings: A rotary vacuum drier of standard construction is shown in crosssection in Fig. 1 at Ill, having a rotating shaft I1 on which the agitating paddles I6 are fastened. 25 'I'he vacuum chamber is provided with a jacket II for applying steam or other heating means, with inlet connections at I2 and outlet connections at I3. The material to be dried is dumped in through feed pipe I5 by removing the 30 cover I4. The finished and dried material is discharged through one or more openings like the discharge opening 44 which, during the drying operation, is kept closed by means of a cover 41 provided with a gasket 46 and hinged at 45, 35 the cover being clamped in place at the opposite side of hinge 45. The centrifugal dust-trap as shown here consists of a drum 31, forming an annular space around the exhaust connection or exit' duct I 9. The drum 31 is provided with a jacket 38 for steam or other heating means with inlet connections at some point like 39. Near the top or dome of drum 31 the annular space is connected by means of a suitable size duct I8 to the intake I5 of the vacuum chamber IIJ.l Thus, in this case, pipe I5 also serves as the exhaust connection from the interior of the drier. The exhaust duct I8 is connected to the side Aof the drum, Fig. 3, so that the vapors enter the annular space in a tangential direction and are 5o given a rapid rotary swirling motion, throwing the dust towards the periphery of the annular space. As the heavy dust particles are thrown out by the centrifugal action and drop down i.lltQ the receiver below, the practically dust-free 55 vapors turn\up into the exit duct I9 and pass out through the k connection 40. The sharp turn which the vapors must make around the bottom end of exit duct I9 in passing out also is a definite aid in the separation. The exit duct I9 is usually placed in the center of drum 31 and extends well down towards the bottom of the drum. This duct may be of the same .size or smaller than the communicating duct I8, but it is sometimes desirable to make it of larger area so as to reduce the velocity of the vapors as they pass on through shown at 42, with outlet at 21. The Sides of receiver 2li slope steeply down to a suitable conveyor such as a rotating screw 28.

The screw conveyor 28 extends through duct 2| nearly to the inside wall of the drier. It is rotated by means of a shaft 30 extending out in the receiver is released through a stuiiing-box or sealed bearing 29 in the side of the receiver 20. On shaft 30 is a collar 3| which is fastened against rotary axial movement relative to shaft 30 and which is slidably connected to the prime mover P through some such means as a collar 33 provided with pins 34 extending through clearance holes in 3|, so that collar 3|, shaft 30 and screw 28 may be moved endwise by means of a shifter-lever 35 without stopping .the rotation of the screw 28. Another feature, which may or may not be used, but which I have found to'be of decided/advantage, is that the screw 23 is made with two differing pitches of the conveyor flights or spirals. The part of the screw 23 which is in the receiver has the iiights spaced withl a large pitch so as to collect a large amount of powder, while the portion 22 in the duct 2| has the flights spaced at a smaller pitch.

This construction has a tendency to decrease the speed andcompress the powder as it is forced through the smaller pitch of the screw and form, t a. comparatively solid plug of powder at 23 between the end of the screw and the inside of the` vacuum chamber, thus providing an eiective vacuum and vapor seal in duct 2|.

In forcing the plug 23 against the weight of the material in the dryingchamber i0, it may become so hard and tight in duct 2| that the powder in the screw does not have suiiicient traction to push` the plug on into the drying chamber. By moving the screw 28 endwise, as provided for and described above, the plug is loosened and driven on. As the screw slips back to its normal position, the pressure against the looser powder and it will start to iiow again. f

Some powders may have a tendency to cling to the screw ights and form a solid bar rotating with the screw, thus'preventirg any endwise motion of the compressed powder. To overcome this difficulty, I provide spiral ribs 24 in part of duct 2| which prevents the compressed powder from rotating with the screw and acts to keep it moving inthe desired direction,

Instead of relying on the accumulation of the dust particles in duct 2| to form a vacuum and/ or vapor seal, it is obvious that a valve may be interposed in duct 2| without-departing from the principle of the invention. The methods and means described here, however, are simpler and considerably more emcient than any mechanical valves that may be used in this connection.

As stated above, a-considerable amount of dust particles are carried out by the vapor current through duct I8 into the annular'space of drum 31 where, by the centrifugal action, the heavier dust particles separate out and fall into" the re are provided so as to prevent condensation of vapors which might otherwise form a sticky mass of the dust. i

The principles of vacuum drying may be briefly defined as follows:

Removing a certain amount 'of moisturefrom damp material by placing the material in a closed chamber, rarefying the atmosphere within the chamber by producing and maintaining a suitable vacuum on the system, applying heat at suitable temperature to the material within the chamber so as to keep this at the vacuum-boilirig temperature of the moisture, and providing means for segregating the uid (vapors) thus liberated from the material.

The boiling point or the temperatureatwhich the fluid or vapors pass out will, of course, vary l with the height of the vacuum andthe nature of the moisture being vaporized.

While I have shown only one embodiment of my invention and onlywin connection with a standard rotary vacuum dryer of the type in which the cylindrical shell is stationary kand the contents agitated by a revolving set of agitator paddles and blades, it should be understood that I do not intend tobe limited save as the scopeA of the prior art and of the attached claims may require.

I claims- 1. Any apparatus for drying powdered material comprising, a vacuum drier having means `for agitating material in said drier, a vacuum producing device for removing fluid from said drier, a separator for separating fluid from material carried by the fluid and connected between said drier and said device, said separator having an` inlet from said drier tangential to the inner wall or said separator and having an outlet therein spaced from the sidessand from the bottom of said separator and beneath said inlet, and a conveyor leading from the lower part oi!I said separator to said drier for returning material from said separator to said drier, said conveyor having mechanical means adjacent the inlet to said drier for compressing material on said conveyor to form 4a. seal against the escape of fluid or vacluum through the inlet from said conveyor to said drier. s

2. An apparatus for drying powdered material comprising, a vacuum drier having means for sitating material in said drier, a vacuum producing device for removing iuid from said drier, a separator for separating iiuid from material carried by the iiuid and connected between said drier and said device, said separator having an inlet from said drierv tangential to the inner wall of said separator and having an outlet therein spaced from the sides and from the bottom of said separator and beneath said inlet, and a conveyor leadingfrom the lower part of said separator to said drier for returning material from said separatorto said drier, said conveyor having a spiral thereon, at least a portion of said spiral being in said separator, and having a second spiral thereon of smaller pitch than said ilrstmentioned spiral and being located in the inlet from said conveyor to said drier so as to compress material .on said conveyor to form a seal against the escape of uid and vacuum through the inlet from said conveyorto said drier.

3. An apparatus for drying powdered material comprising, a vacuum drier having" means for agitating material in said drier, a vacuum producing device for removing iiuid from said drier,

a separator vfor separating iluid from material carried by the iluid and connected between said drier and said device, said separator having .an inlet from said drier tangential to the inner wall of said separator and having an .outlet therein spaced from the sides and from the bottom of said separator and beneath said inlet, a conveyor leading from the lower part of said separator to said drier for returning material from said separator to said drier, said conveyor having mechanical vmeans adjacent the inlet to said drier for compressing material on said conveyor to form a seal .against the escape of iluid or vacuum through the inlet from said conveyor to said drier, and second -mechanical means co-operating with said mechanical means on said conveyor -to `cause the compressed material to be moved by said conveyor.

4. An apparatus for drying powdered material comprising, a vacuum drier having means for agitating material in said drier, a vacuum producing device for removing fluid from said drier, a separator for separating uid from material carried by the iiuid and connected between said drier and said device, said separator having an inlet from said drier tangential to the inner wall of said separator and having an outlet therein spaced from the sides and from the bottom of said separator and beneath said inlet, a conveyor leading from the lower part of said separator to said drier for returning material from saidseparator to said drier, said conveyor having a spiral thereon, at least a portion of said spiral being in said separator, and having a second spiral thereon of smaller pitch than said mst-mentioned spiral and being located in the inlet from said conveyor to said drier so as to compress material on said conveyor to i'orm `a. seal against the escape of fluidand vacuum through the inlet from said conveyor to said drier, and spiral ribs spiraling in the opposite direction to and spaced opposite the edges of said second spiral on said conveyor and co-operating with said second spiral on said conveyor to cause the compressed material to be moved by said conveyor.

5. An apparatus for drying powdered material comprising, a vacuum drier having means for agitating material in said drier, a vacuum producing devicel for removing fiuidfrom said drier, a separator for separating iiuid from material carried by the uid and connected between said drier and said device, said separator having an inlet from said drier tangential to the inner wall of said separator and having an outlet therein spaced from the sides and from the bottom oi said separator and beneath said inlet, a conveyor ,leading from the lower part of said separator to comprising, a vacuum drier for containing the material to be dried, a vacuum-producing means vfor removing fluid from the material in said drier receiving material from said last-mentioned means and for returning said material to said drier and for compressing said material against said conduit at the point of return of said mateand said material entrained by said uid along.'

curved paths oi' such sharp curvature that centriiugal force causes particles of material entrained by said fluid to part from the particles ci' iluid entraining them, returningseparated particles oi material which has been entrained by .said iluid to said beating and asitating, and condensing the separated particles together as they are returned to the beating and agitating toprevent escape oi fluid at point.

H. BAILEY. 

